How does the Process Work?

After determining what information they wish to request, the Citizen files it (by Fax, Email, In person or U.S. Mail) with the Agency in question.

The day after the request is received during regular business hours begins the 5 day response time for the agency.
Example: You file a request on Tuesday at 4:00PM with Upper Darby Township. The "5 Day Response Time" begins on Wednesday (not on Tuesday).

The Agency has five business days to respond in writing as whether to:

If the Agency does not respond to the request within the 5 days, the request is deemed "denied*".

The Agency may charge appropriate fees if the citizen requests copies of the records. In the case of Upper Darby Township, the fee is $0.25 per page of a regular copy.

Should the total charge of the copies for the request be expected to exceed $100.00, the agency is allow to request this be prepaid

* Record Denial

If the Agency denies the request, the denial will be issued in writing and will include the description of the record request, the specific reasoning for the denial, contact information of the open records officer of the agency, date of the response as well as the procedure for an appeal.

** 30-day Extension

Reasoning for a 30-day Extension may include (but is not limited to): Record Redaction, Off-site Record Storage, Legal Review, Refusal of Fee Payment, Scope of Request precludes a response within the required time period

Helpful Tips

Make sure that information you're requesting isn't already available on the Township Website. While the Township will still fulfill your RTK request, if the information is already freely available on this website, it can save your time, the Townships time and taxpayer money.

Be specific and concise when request records: "Identify as specifically as you can the records you want, so that an Agency can quickly locate them and determine whether they are public record."